HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College cricket team logged its annual stint at the Philadelphia International Cricket Festival this past weekend, logging a pair of wins, taking down Colonial Cavaliers Cricket Club and the Royal Automobile Club in a special weekend at Cope Field.
May 4, 2023 - NY Kookaburras 137/6, Haverford 122/7
Haverford returned to the pitch this Thursday, taking on the New York Kookaburras in their first fixture of the Philadelphia International Cricket Festival. Despite a tight bowling performance, dropped catches and overly cautious batting proved too much for the 'Fords to overcome, falling 15 runs short of a winning total.
Sent into the field first, First Year Ishpuneet Singh gave the Fords a stellar start. Singh's quack inswing proved too much for Kookaburra's opener, who was trapped LBW for a golden duck in the very first over. Fellow inswinger Eugene Yang provided economy to the opening partnership, creating pressure with his miniscule 4.50 economy rate. Singh would be the beneficiary of this pressure, taking his second wicket in the fifth.
The introduction of the 'Spin Twins' after the powerplay would provide Haverford consistent wickets. In the 9th over, Singh took a casual catch at square leg off some arthritic off-spin, breaking the growing partnership. Sophomore Mohanish Bajaj would make the next breakthrough, with his deceptive leg spin clipping the edge of the bat and landing safely in the hands of Junior Keeper Rebecca Stern.
Despite another wicket by the Spin Twins, Haverford was outdone by some excellent batting by a former Australian professional. After an economical opening of 14-2 through the powerplay, the Kookaburras had pushed the total to a competitive 137 runs.
Chasing 137 runs, opening batters, Senior Captain Samuel Monks and Bajaj, attempted to give the 'Fords a solid base. Monks and Bajaj scored 14 runs a piece, with Monks reaching this off 16 deliveries and Bajaj reaching it in a (perhaps too) cautious 32 deliveries. Both openers would be caught behind, bringing Sidd Phatak and Deep Patel to the crease. While Patel would be dismissed for 14 as well, he did so off a quick 15 balls.
As usual, Phatak would be the highlight of Haverford's batting innings. Coming in in the 8th over, a slow start meant Phatak was tasked with chasing down 100 runs in the final 12 overs. Phatak confronted this task head on, smashing a 4 off his very first delivery. Helped by the quick legs of Patel and Yang, Phatak mixed deep shots and ran for three with quick singles.
Going just over a run a ball, Phatak started his innings with 24 off 22, but shifted into overdrive at the end of his innings. Phatak scored 22 off just his next seven deliveries. Unfortunately tournament rules would require Phatak to retire after reaching his 40. Phatak walked off the pitch with a beautiful 46 off 29, including 3 fours and two sixes.
Unfortunately, the fiery Phatak couldn't overcome Haverford's slow start and Haverford would end their innings at 122/6, 17 runs short of a winning total.
May 5, 2023 - Haverford, 56/3 - Colonial Cavaliers (Mass.) 55/10
After their narrow defeat on Thursday, Haverford Cricket returned to the pitch with a thirst for revenge on Friday. Fielding first against the Colonial Cavaliers, everything clicked for the 'Fords who produces one of the best defensive performances of the tournament.
Opening with what some described as the best bowling attack in the tournament, stalwart inswingers Ishpuneet Singh and Eugene Yang shared the new ball. After a rocky first over in which Singh gave up 9 runs, Yang came on to right the ship.
Yang struck in his first over, inducing a dolly of a catch which was safely fielded by covers. Singh took Yang's cue and struck in the very next over, trapping the batter LBW. From here on, Yang and Singh struck with the regularity of a grandfather clock.
In the fourth over, Yang's ball whizzed past the batter, dislodging the stumps and turning the bails into a projectile weapon. In the fifth over, Ishpuneet showed what a little motivation does to his fielding when he caught a ball drilled right back to him, dismissing the batter caught and bowled.
In the sixth over, Yang would produce his least economical over, giving up two whole runs. To make up for this transgression, Yang took two wickets as well. The first came off an excellent piece of fielding by Mohanish Bajaj , who made a diving catch at mid-off. The second wicket of the over left bystanders wondering what possible offence the stumps had committed against Yang to imbibe him with such animosity for the them—he once again clean-bowled the batter and sent the stumps flying.
The absolute filth produced by Singh and Yang left the Cavaliers at 16/6 after the power play, and with 3 batters dismissed for naught, Cope Field was looking more like the duck pond than a cricket pitch.
After the powerplay, there was only cleanup work left to do. Mohanish began this with an unreadable leggie removing the stumps. Joshua Corbett took the mantel next, inducing a drive which Senior Captain Samuel Monks did well to catch at long-off. Singh would finish the job, trapping the final batsman LBW.
Chasing a measly 55 runs, Haverford again showed their affinity for rocky starts, with both opening batters being dismissed cheaply in the first three overs. Haverford appeared in a precarious 4/2 after the third over. These dismissals, however, brought Sidd Phatak to the crease.
Phatak continued his excellent form, playing with the caution the situation required. He took fewer risks, looking for and finding the boundary only twice. However, this caution was exactly what was required.
Deep Patel joined Phatak after another wicket left Haverford at 8/3 in the fourth over. He matched Phatak's temperament. The pair favored knocking the ball into gaps for quick ones and twos. There was no looking back for Haverford at this point. Phatak and Patel saw Haverford to the total in 12 overs, with Phatak finishing on 36* off 38 and Patel sitting at 11* off 18.
Haverford's run chase undoubtedly owed its brevity to Haverford's opening bowing attack and performance in the field. Yang's final bowling figures of 4/5 was the best individual bowling figures in the Festival, while 55/10 was the lowest total for which a team was dismissed.
May 6, 2023 - Sarasota Cricket Club (Fla.) 151/10, Haverford 103/8
In the first match of their Saturday double header, Haverford College faced off against their toughest competition yet: three-time festival winners Sarasota International Cricket Club. Once again fielding first, Haverford looked to the ever-reliable pair of Eugene Yang and Ishpuneet Singh to continue their form of the previous day.
Singh would prove the pick of bowlers in the powerplay, taking a pair of wickets. His first came in the third over, when his swing proved too unplayable for Sarasota's opening batter who was clean bowled. The wicket-couplet was completed in the fifth over, with Singh inducing a catch by Sophomore Leo Gruenstein, who showed off the safe hands that earned him a spot in the deep.
Despite the regular wickets, Sarasota managed to recover to a stable 76-3 by the tenth over. Senior Captain Samuel Monks took on the responsibility for breaking the burgeoning partnership. His skiddy 'Smalinga™' delivery induced a complete whiff by the batter, resulting in an LBW dismissal. This would be followed by a wicket the very next over by Singh, who picked up his third scalp of the match with yet another LBW.
As Sarasota recovered from these losses and rebuilt their innings, Monks turned to his strike bowler, Yang, to break the recovery. Yang understood the assignment, bowling the in-form batter who, like many before him, could not read Yang's inswing.
The next over, Joshua Corbett celebrated the coronation of his new king by taking his second wicket of the tournament, with his tempting slower delivery causing the batter to launch the ball straight into Singh's waiting hands. Corbett would continue his celebrations the next over, when the batter got too excited to take advantage of Corbett's lack of pace and completely missed the ball, causing the wickets to topple like the Goths toppling the Roman Empire.
A quick innings of 21 off 10 by Sarasota's tail-ender gave the visitors hope of a late innings push. However Yang would once again provide the necessary brake for Haverford, dismissing this batter and leaving Sarasota to wonder what could have been if only Yang hadn't taken their wicket.
While Mohanish Bajaj would take advantage of the aggressive batting of the last over, bowling the Sarasota batter and ending with an economical 17 runs off his 4 overs, Sarasota still managed to put up 151 runs in their 20 overs.
Attempting to shake up the previously slow opening partnership, Haverford turned to Sophomore Deep Patel open the batting with Monks. While both batter's managed to stick around for a bit, Sidd Phatak would soon come to the crease, carrying with him his bat and Haverford's hopes of victory.
He showed his classical, but aggressive batting, scoring with strong cover drives, and throwing in a couple fours and a six. Once again, the opposition had no response for Phatak, who was forced to retire after reaching 40* off 36 balls. Perhaps more impressive than his incredible batting, Phatak remained unbeaten through his first 3 innings of the tournament.
While Bajaj would help contribute a steady 12 off 15, the 'Fords got their ducks in a row—that is, 3 of 4 middle order were unfortunately dismissed for a duck. This brought on Gruenstein and Junior Captain Rebecca Stern, who managed to drag the 'Fords into the triple digits, with Gruenstein scoring a steady 8 off 18.
Stern showed off the power hitting she developed over the off-season, while reserving her spot in the annals of Haverford cricket when she scored the first maximum by a woman at Haverford College. This 6 came off a beautiful stroke which she picked up off her leg stump and sent just shy of Wendy's house. Her quick 10* off 9 matched Phatak's strike rate of 111, which was over 30 higher than the next highest by a Haverford batter. Unfortunately, Haverford fell 48 runs shy of Sarasota's total despite this Stern's late cameo.
May 6, 2023 - Hoboken (N.J.) 100/3 - Haverford 99/9
Haverford capped off their Saturday double header with a match against a strong side from Hoboken Cricket Club. Forced to bat first, the 'Fords were unable to rely on their strong bowling attack to give them a running start. Instead, they had to turn to their opening batters to start the match.
Looking for the perfect opening pair, Senior Captain Samuel Monks was joined by his third new batting partner of the tournament. After a couple quick runs, Monks would have to walk back in the first over, bringing Sidd Phatak to the crease. Phatak showed his usual reliability, and was helped by a pair of cortisone-shot-fueled legs at the other end of the crease. The new pair snuck a series of quick singles to nudge the run rate along.
However, the other opening batter would soon have to depart as well. This meant Phatak would once again shoulder the responsibility of Haverford's batting innings. He showed his usual class, attempting to maintain the strike while protecting his wicket. Perhaps sensing that his 40 was just around the corner, Phatak would be dismissed just as he was looking to accelerate his innings. However, that was not before he scored an innings-saving 28 off 29 including two boundaries.
A series of unassuming scores through the middle order brought Josh Corbett to the crease with the 'Fords sitting at 64/7 through 14 overs. Corbett would provide the best performance by a No. 9 batsman for Haverford of the season. His innings of 28 off 23 included one 4 and a beautiful on-drive for 6. This was helped by speed ne'er before seen from Corbett, who partnered with Leo Gruenstein, Eugene Yang, and Ishpuneet Singh to run 5 twos and a 3, showing off the Speed, Agility, and Quickness that the entire team has developed over the past year.
Putting up a total of 99/9, Haverford knew it would take another Cavaliers-esque performance in the field to pull off a win. Hoboken's opening partnership made this all the more difficult, going at over 10 runs an over through the power play. Monks took on the captain's burden of breaking the partnership, bowling himself in the 4th over. He managed to do so with ease, inducing an off drive which was safely caught by Mohanish Bajaj at mid-off.
Despite this breakthrough, Hoboken's remaining opening batter (reportedly anticipated as a top prospect for Philadelphia's Minor League team in a few years) would go on to score his 40 in just 15 balls. At this point, the damage was done and victory was all but out of reach for the 'Fords.
Two bright spots came in the remainder of the innings. Monks took a second wicket, his trademarked Smanlinga delivery skidding under the bat and into the stumps. This gave Monks his best bowling figures of his senior year, 2/21.
Fellow Captain Rebecca Stern gave the 'Fords their second bright spot. Hoboken's batters thought they could steal a run off a ball that skirted a few yards behind Stern at keeper. This proved a poor decision as Stern collected the ball and sent it flying into the stumps, catching the batter short of his ground.
Despite these bright spots, Hoboken made quick work of the Fords total, chasing it down in just under 10 overs.